Accidental discovery of sweet potatoes
Chapter 59: Accidental Discovery of Sweet Potatoes
The servants brought the dishes swiftly and orderly, soon filling the table. At his son's signal, Feng Jijiu was the first to pick up his chopsticks.
"Huaibei, don't be polite and eat more." Uncle Feng urged him to eat and then he picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
"Well, then Huaibei won't be polite."
Chu Huaibei saw that most of the dishes on the table were common dishes in her house, and the rest were Fengjing's unique dishes. It was obvious that his uncle had asked his mother in advance and got her guidance.
The Hongsheng cake on the table, or its original name, brown sugar steamed cake, is now not only served at large banquets, but also at small banquets at home. It seems that from ancient times to the present, people have been very accepting of things with auspicious meanings.
However, at the grandparents' banquet, no one urged others to drink, which Chu Huaibei considered a rare and good habit. The custom of urging others to drink was originally meant to ensure a good time for both host and guest, and to demonstrate the host's sincerity. Later, it was gradually, or perhaps deliberately, altered by someone with ulterior motives into bullying. It was nothing more than mentally controlling others for one's own benefit, and even more disgusting, it was done not for personal gain, but simply to assert one's own privilege.
Chu Huaibei was really hungry. Although she ate in an elegant manner, she was actually very fast. Seeing that the dishes in front of her were quickly becoming scarce, Uncle Feng quickly turned the plates to replace them. If the dishes were really finished, it would be embarrassing for the children to realize it.
Chu Huaibei didn't care at all and ate whatever was in front of her. In fact, she wasn't picky about food. She only disliked edamame, but she accepted everything else. Edamame is the young stage of soybeans. When they grow up, they become yellow soybeans. Soybeans are the main ingredient in making tofu.
It’s no secret that the tofu here has developed quite maturely. Both old tofu and tender tofu can be made, as well as the by-product bean curd skin.
If there were peppers here, she would have wanted to develop some spicy strips. But she couldn't think about it. The more she thought about it, the more greedy she became, and it made her feel anxious.
The old lady saw Huaibei eating without even looking up, and the more she watched, the more she liked him. She ate slowly and used half a bowl more than before. Mrs. Luo was also very happy to see this. Before, the news of the Mongol raid came from the northern border, and the old lady was sick. She only recently recovered, but her appetite had never returned to its previous state. Now it seems that she is truly well again!
Chu Huaibei's eating posture stunned his nephews. They had been asked to eat slowly and elegantly since they were young, and not to eat and drink too much, especially at banquets. It was better to eat less than to eat all the time, so as not to be accused of poor upbringing and to go to other people's banquets as if they had not eaten for 800 years, which would bring shame to their family.
Nowadays, the banquets held by wealthy families are quite lavish. The dishes on the table are placed one after another. There are at least more than thirty dishes in the whole banquet.
Only at banquets with family members would they eat together at a large round table. When attending banquets outside, they would eat separately, with each person having one seat and one table. It is conceivable that so many dishes could not be finished. Even if they were removed and distributed to the servants, they would not be finished on the same day.
Not to mention the families of high-ranking officials, the servants would not bother to eat the dishes that were removed, and it was common for them to throw them all away, which vividly demonstrated that while the rich have wine and meat, there are people freezing to death on the streets.
Chu Huaibei said that all the idle people from the noble families should be forced to repair the city walls for her to prevent them from wasting food.
The four children were glared at by their father, and they all lowered their heads to eat their own food and stopped staring at Chu Huaibei.
It wasn't that Chu Huaibei didn't notice, but she felt that since they were all family, there was no need to be polite. She would then go hungry, which was not worth it at all. Besides, her appetite was definitely bigger than anyone else present, and her strength wasn't gained in vain; she always had to follow the law of conservation of energy.
When she slowed down her eating, she found that everyone had almost finished eating. Several younger generations had already started drinking sweet soup. They didn't eat much more than their mother. No wonder her cousins from her uncle's family looked so frail and pale-faced as scholars.
Such a man, she can knock out ten of them with one punch, so she should feed him more food. Just like when she first saw Hu Zhi, he was a real fairy boy who could be blown away by the wind. With her constantly updating the menu of the palace, he eats half a bowl more every day. Now he has grown a lot stronger. When she touches him, he is no longer a row of sweet and sour pork ribs. He is also much stronger, hehe...
Seeing that the younger generations all loved to drink this brown sugar sweet soup, which seemed to taste good, Chu Huaibei served himself a bowl of sweet soup. There were some small pieces of objects in it, which might be crops unique to Fengjing. In any case, there was no sweet soup at banquets in the northern border.
He took a sip of the soup with a spoon. Surprisingly, it wasn't overly sweet; it was okay. He scooped a piece of soup into his mouth. The flavor of the soft-cooked sweet potato, mixed with the taste of brown sugar, lingered in his mouth. Chu Huaibei held the spoon in his hand, motionless, for almost half a minute.
Oh my god, what a shocking reversal, she actually ate sweet potatoes in Fengjing! ! ! !
A small bowl of sweet soup, two mouthfuls to drink up. Put down the bowl and chopsticks, eyes bright look at the grandfather: "Grandfather, how many of these sweet potatoes are left?"
Feng Jijiu paused in his action of picking up the food when he saw Chu Huaibei's eyes suddenly brighten up, and then a row of question marks popped up in his mind. What was this grandson asking? What should he do if he didn't understand...
It was my third cousin who was the first to react: "Huaibei, you call this plant sweet potato?"
"Hmm? Isn't that what it's called? It's okay. How much has been planted on this farm of ours, cousin? Can I take two stones back to the North?"
"Two stones! Huaibei, this is not grown on the farm. Your third cousin bought it on a shipping ship in Quanzhou. No one wanted this plant, so he spent one or two taels of silver on two large baskets, and then shipped it back with the caravan." The eldest cousin explained the origin of the plant.
"I got scolded by my second aunt when I got back. I didn't know if it was poisonous, but I brought it home. I fed half a basket to the sheep at home first. When I saw that the sheep were fine, I started to think about how to eat it. It tastes best when roasted, but it tastes a bit dirty. Later, I tried frying, stewing, and making sweet soup is the best way to eat it at the dinner table."
When Chu Huaibei heard that the sheep had eaten half of the basket, he felt so heartbroken that he felt like bleeding. It was such a waste of food.
"Cousin, how many are left in the mansion now? I want them all and take them back to the northern border to plant. I will ship more sweet potatoes to you when the harvest comes next year." Chu Huaibei now just wants them not to eat them... These are all precious seeds!
"Okay, all for you. Someone bring all the sweet potatoes from the kitchen to the dining room." Uncle Feng made the decision and ordered his servants to bring the remaining sweet potatoes. They didn't recognize the plant, but because it was particularly sweet after being roasted, they called these potatoes "sweet potatoes."
"Thank you, uncle, grandfather, and everyone for leaving some food for us. I will send the sweet potato planting methods and seeds back to your house when the harvest comes next year." Chu Huaibei stood up, clasped his fists, and bowed to everyone.
"My dear grandson, if you are so polite, your grandmother will be angry. These are just worthless little things." The old lady spoke first.
"Grandmother, I'm thanking you on behalf of the people of the North. You may not know, but sweet potatoes are a high-yielding and filling plant, and they're not demanding on soil or climate. They can even be grown in mountainous areas, though they'll just grow smaller. With these, the people of the North will no longer go hungry."
"Huaibei, where did you learn all this?" Feng Jijiu finally asked the question that everyone was wondering.
"Oh, I accidentally saw a related description in a collection of miscellaneous items, so I will go back and try to cultivate seeds and test the planting method. Once I succeed, I will pass it on to others. Third cousin, if you come across this sweet potato on a ship in the future, please buy it and send it to the northern border. Huaibei thanks you in advance."
Chu Huaibei had thought of a countermeasure when they didn't know that this was a sweet potato. Anyway, she said she had seen this kind of thing before, and once it was grown, no one would ask about it anymore and change the subject.
"Huaibei, you are too polite. I am very happy that I can use my little strength to help the people in the northern border. I will send the shopkeeper in Quanzhou to keep an eye on the ships and buy them as soon as they appear." The third cousin returned the greeting to Chu Huaibei. He didn't dare to accept Huaibei's greetings any more because his father had already started to signal him.
As he was talking, the servants from before had already brought in the remaining sweet potatoes. Chu Huaibei squatted down to check and saw that only half a basket was left. These sweet potatoes were not as big as those in his previous life. They were long and thin and barely the size of a palm. He guessed that they were still wild in their place of origin, so he bought them and sold them.
Some of them are still attached to vines, which have dried up. I turned them over and found that they were not rotten. They are good, so I took them back to the farm and planted them as seedlings. Although it is late, it doesn't matter. I will plant them next to the north side of the sugar factory and build a greenhouse. As long as the stove in the sugar factory is kept burning, the temperature should be enough.
Seeing Chu Huaibei's infatuation with the sweet potato, the family began to believe that what he said was true. This plant could really increase the people's food supply. If it really succeeded, the emperor's reaction would be unknown.
Should we make some preparations in advance? Huaibei’s reputation doesn’t need to get any bigger. It’s not good for him.
Chu Huaibei's surprising discovery at her grandparents' house made her feel energetic when she woke up at the hour of Yin the next day. Home is still the best. She had steamed buns and a bowl of thick multi-grain porridge for breakfast. Although it was not water, it was a thousand times better than chewing dry biscuits.
I have to say that it is not an easy thing to attend court every day. The three ministers have been attending court for most of their lives. Putting aside other things, their health is really good.
I went to the east gate on time to queue up and wait to enter the palace. Today I only brought Lu Shun and Shiyi with me. There was nothing special anyway.
Standing in front of Chu Huaibei was the Minister of Works Zhou Zhili. Looking at the two big dark circles under his eyes, it was obvious that the people in the Ministry of Works had not slept all night and had been working overtime to make the decision.
It's incredibly difficult. One word from above is enough to make the people below run around like crazy, not to mention that this is the kind of situation where you'd actually physically break your legs. I didn't see the prince yesterday. He's supposed to be participating in government, so why wasn't he in court? Shouldn't he be standing by and listening to the government? I wonder what the emperor is thinking.
Chu Huaibei stood by, leaning against her horse, her mind wandering, her eyes unfocused. She ignored the courtiers' fiery gazes. What was there to see? Were they all gay, mesmerized by her pretty face?
Of course, the court officials weren't gay. Ahem, no one knew about this. They were simply intrigued by the news that Prince Zhenbei was openly living at his maternal grandfather's house. The Feng family had always tried to avoid getting involved with the palace, acting as if they had little to do with it.
This time, for some reason, they actually started to get closer. However, it is not ruled out that the elders in the family care about the younger ones, and things like intergenerational affection happen every day in the backyard of the aristocratic family. As a younger generation, can you still contradict the old feudal lord in the family? If you contradict him today, tomorrow the whole city will know that you are unfilial...
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